This week was filled with rumors that Apple may finally be pulling the plug on its traditional-spinning-hard-drive MP3 player. Well, the NPD Group revealed to AppleInsider the overall portable media player sales rankings for 2010 in the US. Guess what placed fifth in the rankings?
Apple’s black 160GB iPod classic was the fifth best selling media player in the U.S. for all of 2010, suggesting that the hard drive-based device won’t be exiting the company’s product lineup in the near future.
Apple’s fourth-generation iPod Touch 32GB came in third and third-generation 32GB came in fourth behind the cheaper, 8GB versions of the iPod Touch. Right behind these was the iPod Classic 160GB black model - still having a very strong presence in the MP3 player category.
Availability at retails stores have dwindled as of recent, but maybe we’re going to see an unscheduled refresh instead. Toshiba has revealed new, 1.8-inch hard drives with capacities up to 220GB. Updated iPod Classics with storage this size could keep the legacy going, many people want their entire music library with them and this would work for most people.
Apple is still the dominent media player company of 2010 with 2011 expcted to also be great. 9 out of the top 10 devices from 2010 are Apple (entire list in graphic). The only non-Apple device to make the list: the 4GB Sandisk Sansa Clip+, with a retail of around $30.
[via AppleInsider]
